Larry Lee Simms (October 1, 1934 â€" June 17, 2009) was an American
child actor who appeared in 36 films between 1937 and 1951.Larry Simms
was born October 1, 1934. He worked as a child model from the age of
two and was discovered by a Hollywood talent scout when he appeared in
a 1937 Saturday Evening Post advertisement. His first film was The
Last Gangster (1937), where he played Edward G. Robinson's young son.
Simms became known for his appearances as Alexander "Baby Dumpling"
Bumstead in the popular Blondie film series starring Penny Singleton
and Arthur Lake. Between 1938 and the end of the series in 1950, Simms
appeared as Alexander in 28 films earning at one point $750 a week. In
1946, Simms joined the cast of the Blondie radio program, portraying
Alexander there as he had in movies.Simms occasionally acted outside
of the Blondie series, most notably in two Frank Capra films. He
played one of the sons of Governor Hopper (Guy Kibbee) in Mr. Smith
Goes to Washington (1939) and Pete Bailey, the oldest son of James
Stewart's George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life (1946). He retired
from show business to join the Navy (he appeared in uniform as himself
in the Columbia Screen Snaphots short Hollywood Grows Up), then
studied aeronautical engineering at California Polytech. He later
worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California
and around the world as an engineer until his retirement from
aeronautical engineering. Simms and his wife resided in Thailand prior
to his death (on June 17th at age 74) in 2009.
child actor who appeared in 36 films between 1937 and 1951.Larry Simms
was born October 1, 1934. He worked as a child model from the age of
two and was discovered by a Hollywood talent scout when he appeared in
a 1937 Saturday Evening Post advertisement. His first film was The
Last Gangster (1937), where he played Edward G. Robinson's young son.
Simms became known for his appearances as Alexander "Baby Dumpling"
Bumstead in the popular Blondie film series starring Penny Singleton
and Arthur Lake. Between 1938 and the end of the series in 1950, Simms
appeared as Alexander in 28 films earning at one point $750 a week. In
1946, Simms joined the cast of the Blondie radio program, portraying
Alexander there as he had in movies.Simms occasionally acted outside
of the Blondie series, most notably in two Frank Capra films. He
played one of the sons of Governor Hopper (Guy Kibbee) in Mr. Smith
Goes to Washington (1939) and Pete Bailey, the oldest son of James
Stewart's George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life (1946). He retired
from show business to join the Navy (he appeared in uniform as himself
in the Columbia Screen Snaphots short Hollywood Grows Up), then
studied aeronautical engineering at California Polytech. He later
worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California
and around the world as an engineer until his retirement from
aeronautical engineering. Simms and his wife resided in Thailand prior
to his death (on June 17th at age 74) in 2009.
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